B.C. postal workers robbed, delivery truck hijacked

Two postal workers were robbed this week while delivering mail in Surrey, and Mounties believe holiday parcels may have been the intended targets.

One Canada Post employee’s delivery truck was carjacked on Cyber Monday, and a letter carrier was accosted on the street in Whalley the next day.

RCMP Cpl. Bert Paquet called the crimes “very unusual,” and suggested they may have been hatched as an attempt to take advantage of Christmas gift-giving.

“We’re ramping up to a holiday season. [That means] more parcels, packages and letters that might have some money or valuables in it,” Paquet said.

“We believe that maybe the motive is to obtain mailbox keys to gain access.”

The first postal worker attacked was Dan Kindred, who was yanked from his parked truck while trying to make a delivery.

He fought back, but wound up with a broken wrist, as well as aches in his head and hip.

“I grabbed onto the truck, he started driving away,” said Paquet, who ran alongside the vehicle until it turned a street corner.

“We went about halfway down 55 Avenue and then he pulled out a can of mace from under his jacket… that’s when I let go.”

Mounties say the truck was recovered shortly after and they are working with Canada Post to determine whether any parcels are missing.

The next robbery occurred on the street when two crooks in a car pulled up to a female carrier, threatened her with pepper spray and demanded she hand over her keys.

She complied, and managed to get away uninjured.

The postal workers’ union said the robbers' motivation may also have had to do with Cyber Monday, when millions of Canadians are estimated to have made online purchases – many of which travel through Canada Post.

Union representatives urged anyone who sees something suspicious in their neighbourhoods, such as a mail carrier or truck being followed, to call police immediately.

With a report from CTV British Columbia’s St. John Alexander

Photos

Canada Post vehicles sit outside a sorting depot in the Ville St-Laurent borough of Montreal, in this June 6, 2011 photo. (Graham Hughes / THE CANADIAN PRESS)